Adjusting mechanism for the digging boom and scraper boom of endless type ditching machines



1953 G. E. MILLER 2,649,792 q ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR THE DIGGING BOOM AND SCRAPER BOOM OF ENDLESS TYPE DITCHING MACHINES Filed July 10, 1,948 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 J INVENTOR.

E MILLER 2,649,792

Aug 25, GI

ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR THE DIGGING BOOM AND SCRAPER BOOM 0F ENDLESS TYPE DITCHING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 10, 1948 JNVENTQR.

Aug. 25, 1953 G. E. MILLER 2,649,792

ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR THE DIGGING BOOM AND SCRAPER BOOM OF ENDLESS TYPE DITCHING MACHINES Filed July 10, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Y I'M l l i 1 I'l l l l I l l l l l l l l l l a NVENmRi Aug. 25, 1953 e. E. MILLER 2,649,792

ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR THE 'DIGGING BOOM AND SCRAPER BOOM OF ENDLESS TYPE DITCHING MACHINES Filed July 10, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

Patented Aug. 25, 1953 7 ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR THE DIGGING BOOM AND SCBAPER BOOM OF ENDLESS TYPE DITCHING MACHINES Glen E. Miller,'Marion, Iowa Application July 10, 1948, Serial No. 37,991

Claims. (01. 37-86) My invention relates to an improvement in chain excavators carried by a tractor of the type in which a rapidly moving chain carrying a plurality of spaced cutters is utilized todig narrow trenches or ditches for tiling or other purposes by loosening'the earth and carrying it to the surface where the loosened earth is spread to one or both sides of the trench by augers or spiral conveyors. It is especially desirable for use in tiling farms but is applicable to any excavation where a controlled depth is required.

In such machines heretofore in use, difliculty has been experienced when traveling over rough or uneven ground because the up and down tilting of the tractor caused by such uneven ground surface causes a great deal of irregular up and movement of the rear end of the chain boom with consequent irregularity in the level of the bottom or floor of the ditch or trench.

Difficulty has also been experienced because in order to adjust the leveling gauge, the chain boom, and the scraper or plow at the rear thereof, it has been necessary to stop the machine and make the adjustments while the machine was idle. Thus valuable time was lost in the use of the machine.

The objects of my invention are to provide facile means to adjust and control the depth of cut of such trenching machine and secure uniformity of grade therein; to provide an improved scraper to follow the chain cutters and carry forward crumbled or loosenedground so as to insure a smooth, even floor or bottom for the ditch; to provide such a scraper which is adjustable and adapted to eitherhard-dry or softwet ground and which will act to control the depth of the ditch cut by the chain; to provide means for adjusting the height of the spreaders relative to the ground surface and to the desired depth of the ditch or trench; to provide a convenient form and mounting for a gauge by which the depth of the scraper can readily be determined as compared to a line or string established by the surveyors at a given height above the desired grade for the tile and the depth of the chain boom at its rear end can be readily adjusted without stopping the operation of the machine.

I accomplish these objects by the means shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective View from one side of my machine before digging in;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of my machine in operative position;

Figure 3 is a sectional detail of the auger,

auger mounting and adjusting screw;

Figure 4 is an enlarged se tional detail of the chain boom and its carrier yoke on the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional detail of the adjusting yoke and sleeve for the crank rod to adjust the chain boom, on the line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail of the yoke and sleeve for adjusting the shoe of the scraper, on the line 6-6 of Figure 1.

Figure '7 is an enlarged detail front elevation of the scraper showing the means for adjusting the lateral scraper blades.

Similar numerals refer to throughout the several views. 7

In the specification I refer to the I-beam l which carries the sprocket wheels over which the cutter chain travels as the chain boom l. I use the term scraper to apply to the semicircular plates 40.! mounted upon the scraper frame 40 at the rear of the chain boom l which gathers up and carries forward the crumbled or loose earth if any is left in the trench by the cutter blades. The term scraper frame is used to denote the frame to which the scraper is attached.

I use the terms shoe, slide or runner to refer to the spadelike blade 42, which is pivotally united to the lower end of the scraper frame; and the term supporting beam to apply to the uppermost beam or boom 2'! extending rearwardly from the rectangular supporting frame.

I use the terms chain excavator and chain excavating machine to denote any self-propelled or tractor-driven excavator having a rigid frame with a tubular housing which carries a drive similar parts shaft to be revolved either by the engine of the tractor or by an independent power unit and which tubular housing is adjustably mounted in the frame of the tractor or self-propelled unit. The rearwardly extending chain boom having its front end united to such tubular housing, a chain-driving sprocket wheel mounted upon the drive shaft 2.l, and the idler sprocket wheels carried by the chain boom over which a chain II is carried has united thereto a plurality of cutting blades to do the excavating. Such machines are well known and I do not limit my claims to any particular make of vehicle or excavator. I use the term chain boom to denote a beam or bar having sprocket wheels at opposite ends thereof which carry and drive a chain or belt having digging members united thereto to dig and carry forward the earth as necessary to form the desired ditch or other excavation.

In such excavators now in use, a suitable frame or housing is rigidly united to the frame of a tractor or similar motor-driven vehicle. The front end of the chain boom is welded or otherwise united to a pair of coaxial tubular housings 2 which are pivotally mounted in the frame or housingand spaced apart far enough to permit attachment of a drive sprocket wheel rigidly united to the middle of the drive shaft 2.i. Such drive shaft housings are commonly connected by reduction chain gearing or other reduction gear to a hand wheel which may be manually operated so as to revolve-the drive shaft housing a portion of a revolution in order to raise or lower the chain boom into a substantially vertical position for transportation or to lower it so that it can extend downwardly at any desired an-- gle for the purpose of cutting the ditch or making the excavation.

I do not .show the hand wheel or gearing mentioned .as they are well known and in common use and form no part of my invention. Such hand wheels areprovided with locking means by which the chain boom will beheld at a fixed angle .to the frame or body of the tractor. so locked in position, it is obvious that as the tractor tilts or bounces up and down, the rear end of the chain boom will also tilt or bounce up and down whereby longitudinal unevenness will be produced in the floor or bed of the ditch.

In order to avoid this unevenness, I mount a main frame in fixed position upon the drive shaft housing either .by using .U bolts I! or by welding or other suitable .means. The main frame includes side bars l3 and i9, .end plates '24 and top and bottom plates 25 and 26, and extends rearwardlyand upwardly from the drive shaft housing at aslight angle to the chain'boom and spaced therefrom.

At the topand rear-of the main frame, I rigidly weld 'or otherwise unite thereto by the crossbar 25 a fixed supporting beam or boom .2] which extends rearwardly in the same vertical .plane as the chain boom and withsuitable braces 28 and 33 to strengthen it.

At the rear end of the boom 21 I mount a yoke 34 in which a threaded sleeve vor nut 35 is secured, the sleeve having a projecting lug which will-engage the yokeso as to:prevent rota- .tion of the sleeve for more than a very limited distance,

The top and bottom of said yoke have bores through which an adjusting rod 31 passes and to the upper end of which a crank shaft 31.1 bearing a crank at the upper-end thereof,

:is rigidly but removably united. The shaft .31

is threaded to correspond'to the threads in the sleeve or nut :35 and may be turned manually by the crank,

The:lower end of the rod .31 is pivotally united to a crossbar 38 asshown in Figure 4 which cross,- bar is carried by'arms 39 the lower ends of which :are welded or otherwise suitably united to the boom .30. The front endof the boom 30 .is'pivotally united to the rear of the main frame at 'the'lower part thereof by means of the :bar 26,

:and arranged for vertical swinging movement When Cir

distance to the rear-of the first conveyor.

framing of metal plates 41 is united which forms an additional support for the scraper. At the lower end of the scraper and its frame, a shoe or runner 42 is pivotally mounted extending rearwardly a sufiicient distance to afford a suitable support for the rear end of the scraper boom when the shoe is in horizontal position as shown in Figure 2. The front end of the scraper boom is pivotally united to the frame l8 by a bolt 261. The rear end of the fixed supporting boom 21 carries an internally threaded yoke or sleeve 34 having pivots 36 united thereto.

A yoke '45 is mounted upon the rear end of the scraper boom 30 in which a threaded sleeve 44 is carried with a shoe-adjusting rod 43 extending through bores in the yoke 45 and a threaded bore formed in the sleeve or nut 44 and having a crank shaft 43.] rigidly but de-- tachably united thereto above the yoke 45 which may be manually operated by a crank united to the top thereof. The lower end of the shoeadjusting rod 43 is revolvably united to the'shoe 42 by means similar to the means shown in Figure 4. The sleeve 44 is also provided with a lug 44;! extending outwardly far enough to contact the yoke and prevent rotation of the sleeve. The front end of the shoe or runner may extend below and slightly ahead of the scraper blade.

A bracket 46 is rigidly mounted upon the scraper boom between the adjusting rods just described and a gauge rod '41 has its lower end pivotally mounted in said bracket and secured thereto by a bolt or other means whereby it may be held in an uprightposition without accidental displacement, but with a fitting which will permit the upper end of the gauge rod to be moved forward or back by manual force.

The upper end of the gauge rod is provided with a transverse arm .41.! to which a lath or pointer maybe attached which will extend laterally far enough to contact a line of rope, string or other means erected by surveyors to indicate the desired grade of the ditch or excavation. This lath ,or pointer does not constitute any part of my invention and I make no claim thereto.

Likewise, a short handle 41.2 may be united to .the gauge rod to facilitate tilting it either backward or forward so as to get it into vertical position.

In one form of such excavators, spiral conveyors in auger form are utilized to spread the earth to .both sides of the ditch as it is brought to the surface by the chain and the cutters mounted thereon. It is usual to use two such conveyors the front one 3 .of which ismounted in brackets 10 under the chain boom and intended to travel a few inches above the surface of the ground. A second such conveyor 4 is mounted on and above the chain boom at a It is desirable to mount this second conveyor so that it will travel nearer the ground level than the first conveyor and so it will carry away the part to adjust its position, the machine had to be stopped and the mounting unbolted or otherwise unfastened and the conveyor moved longitudilnally of the boom as desired.

mounting on which the second conveyor is car- 'ried by the chain boom. I secure in that yoke an internally threaded sleeve l4, through which a threaded adjusting rod 1 passes, the yoke being provided with a lug 14.! adapted to engage the yoke so as to prevent rotation ofthe sleeve in the yoke.

The front end of said adjusting rod is revolvably mounted in a suitable bracket or support 5 united to the chain boom and carries upon the front end thereof a small bevelgear 16. 'A corresponding bevel gear [5 is carried upon the lower end of a crank rod 8 mounted in a suitable sleeve 9 united to the chain boom.

Gear I5 is in mesh with the bevel gear [6 on the front end of the adjusting rod. The other end of the crank rod is provided with a crank by which the gears may be manually operated and 'the adjusting rod revolved so as to draw the tended to be constructed at a grade which will cause the flow of water either in the trench or ditch or in the tile that is laid therein. In order to insure proper grade for the bottom of the ditch, with my apparatus it is easy for the operator to note the relative position of the gauge or pointer with reference to the string or line placed by the surveyor to gauge the desired grade and to operate the adjusting lever to adjust the angle or position of the scraper or runner relative to the chain boom and also the relative position of the second spiral conveyor relative thereto as well as the angle of the shoe or runner.

When the chain boom has been adjusted to cut to the proper depth, the locking means connected to the control wheel above referred to may be released and the depth'of the rear end of the chain boom will then be determined by the depth of the shoe or runner, which in such case is turned so as to run in a horizontal position and thus prevent the chain boom from digging down any deeper than the desired grade.

When the rear end of the chain boom is run at different depths, the angle of the shoe or runner may be varied so that it will be level. In normal operation the shoe or runner will be held in horizontal position and as it carries the weight of the chain boom in part at least, it will compact and smooth over the earth in the floor or bed of the ditch.

The shoe may be formed either with a flat bottom or curved slightly so as to provide a rounded bottom in which tile may be more easily lined up, one of the principal uses of my invention being for use in connection with excavators used for tiling farms where an established grade must be closely followed.

In order to accommodate this apparatus to difierent trench widths, the scraper has adjustably bolted thereto by bolts 48 a pair of arcuate blades 40A. These blades are provided with transverse slots 49 through which the bolts 48 extend and by means of which they may be spread or narrowed as occasion requires. When used in dry, hard ground, these blades should be ad- .iusted so as toclear the sides of the trench by approximately half an inch, otherwise they will bind and impede the progress of the tractor, but when used in soft damp ground, they are preferably expanded to the full width of the trench as cut by the cutter blades carried on the cutter chain.

In the operation of my apparatus, the scraper blades are first adjusted to the desired width,

the chain boom is extended in the desired line with the chain'blades contacting the surface of the gound-at the rear of the boom. The shoe and scraper are then lowered until the front edge of the shoe contacts the ground at the rear of the bladed cutter chain at an angle to allow it to follow the cutter chain to the desired depth as the cutter chain descends in forming the excavation.

When the'lower end of the boom reaches the desired depth, as shown by the gauge rod relative to the surveyors line or string, the shoe is turned into horizontal position. The second or rear conveyor is then moved along the chain boom until it reaches the desired position relative to the ground surface which must be several inches above the ground so as to prevent impeding the forward movement of the tractor.

Various modifications may be made in the form, proportions, materials, and arrangement of parts, without departing from the spirit of my invention and I do not limit my claims to the precise forms shown in the drawings.

I claim: a

1. In a motor-propelled chain excavating machine having a frame with a drive shaft mounted thereon in a divided housing, a rigid framework adjustably united to the drive shaft housing and extending rearwardly and upwardly therefrom,

a chain boom having its front end adjustably boom'having its front end rigidly united to said framework and extending rearwardly over the 'chain boom and spaced therefrom, a scraper boom having its front end pivotally united to said framework below the supporting boom and extending rearwardly in a common vertical plane with the supporting boom approximately even with the rear of the chain boom, a scraper mounted on said scraper boom, a yoke united to the rear end of the supporting boom, an internally threaded sleeve or nut mounted in the yoke having a threaded vertical bore, an adjusting rod extending through the bore of said nut having threads in mesh therewith, the lower end of said adjusting rod being revolvably attached to said scraper boom and the upper end thereof being united to the shaft of a manually operable crank arranged to rotate said rod whereby rotation of said adjusting rod will raise or lower the scraper boom relatively-to the supporting boom.

2. An excavating apparatus as described in claim 1 and a shoe pivotally united to the lower edge of the scraper with its front edge adjacent thereto, a threaded adjusting rod rotatably mounted in the shoe and its upper end united to a manually operable crank whereby the rod may be rotated and the longitudinal angle of the shoe may be varied toor from the horizontal by turning the crank so that the shoe may thereby correspond to the changing depth of the scraper.

3. In a motor-propelled chain excavating machine having a frame with a'drive shaft mounted thereon in a housing, a rigid framework adjustably united to the drive 'shaft housing and extending rearwardly and upwardly therefrom, a .chainboom having-its front endpivotally mounted upon said housing and extending rearwardly and downwardly therefrom, a supporting boom having its frontend rigidly united to said framework and extending rearwardly over the chain boom-and spacedtherefrom, a scraper boom having its front jendpivotally united to said framework below the supporting boom and extending rearwardly in a .common vertical plane with-the supporting boom-and somewhat to the rear of the rear end of the chain boom, and a scraper mounted upon the rear end of thescraper boom and spaced rearwardly from the chain boom, a pivotally mountedthreaded sleeve or nut carried by the rear end of the supporting boom, a threaded adjusting rod with threads in mesh with the sleeve or nut with the lower end of the adjusting .rod rotatably united to the scraper boom and .its upper end fixedly mounted in a manually operable crank whereby by rotation of the adjusting-rod by the manual operation of said crank .the scraper boom and scraper may be raisedor lowered.

4. In a motor-propelled chain excavating machine having a frame with a drive shaft mounted thereon in a housing, a .rigid framework adjustably united to :the drive shaft housing and extending rearwardly ;and upwardly therefrom, a chain boom having its front end 'adjustably mounted upon said housing and extending rearwardly and downwardly therefrom, a supporting .boom having its front end rigidly united to said framework and extending rearwardly over the chain boom and spaced therefrom, a scraper boom having its front end pivotally united to said framework below the supporting boom and extending rearwardly, a scraper mounted upon the rear end of said scraper boom, a threaded adjusting rod mounted in an internally threaded sleeve or nut pivotally united to the rear end of the supporting boom, means to rotatably secure the lower end of the adjusting rod to the scraper boom, the upper end of the adjusting rod being fixedly mounted in a manually operable crank shaft whereby the adjusting rod may be rotated F8 and thescraper boom and scraper may be raised orlowered by the manual operation of said crank shaft and adjusting rod.

5. In a motor-propelled chain excavating ma-- chine, the combination with a rigid framework united thereto extending rearwardly and -upwardly therefrom, of a supporting boom having its front end rigidly united to said framework and extending rearwardly, a scraper boom having its front end pivotally united to said framework below the supporting boom and extending rearwardly, a scraper mounted upon the rear end of said scraper boom, an internally threaded sleeve pivotally united to the rear end of the supporting boom, a threaded adjusting rod mounted therein, said adjusting rod having its .lower end rotatably secured in means united to the scraper boom and its upper end fixedly mounted in a manually operable crank shaft whereby the adjusting rod may be rotated and the scraper boom and scraper may be raised or lowered by the manual operation of said crank shaft, a'shoe having-a front edge pivotally united to the lower edge of the scraper with its front or cutting edge adjacent the scraper, a threaded adjusting rod mountedin a nut carried by and pivoted at the end of the scraper boom, said adjusting rod having its lower end rotatably united to the shoe and its upper end fixedly mounted in a manually-operable crank whereby the rod may be rotated andthe longitudinal angle of the shoe may be varied to or from the horizontal by turning the crank, so that the shoe may thereby correspond to the changes in depth of the scraper.

GLEN MILLER.

References Gited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES "PATENTS Number Name Date 796,257 Sargent Aug. 1, 1905 915,963 Hovland Mar. 23, 1909 969,187 Poulter 1 Sept. 6, 1910 1,287,781 Steenrod Dec. 17, 1918 1,317,697 French Oct. 7, 1919 1,386,103 Funk 1 Aug. 2, 1921 1,477,940 Brown Dec. 18, 1923 1,740,923 Jaeger Dec. 24, 1929 1,868,515 Barber July 26, 1932 2,519,077 Schmidt Aug. 15, 1950 

